British Academy of

September 2012 Issue 67 GLORIOUS GAMES Well, it’s over! Between the spectacular Opening and Closing Ceremonies, we have been The Joy of Victory - Kim Jiyeon stands atop the podium after treated to a wonderful celebration of sport at the Women’s Sabre 2012. The organisers can feel satisfied at a job well done and they, and indeed the nation, can take pride in these . For the first time, our sport was not confined to a quick ten minutes of highlights. Thanks to the extra 26 channels supplied by the BBC on satellite and the internet, as well as Red Button options, it was possible to follow all the fencing, from the first “en garde” to the final “halte”, from the comfort of one’s armchair. The presentation of the sport was excellent, with five pistes in the centre of one of the Excel arenas. Wireless technology was used throughout, so there were no spools or wires to mar the 21st century look of the pistes, with their spectacular lighting system, as supplied by Leon Paul (see their web site for more details of this). Within the arena, a mixture of video presentations, music and enthusiastic “cheerleading” from IN THIS ISSUE the arena host created, in the spaces between fencing, a lively and noisy atmosphere, enhanced by groups of fans from the many nations represented. (Will we ever regard “We Will Rock You” in the same way again?) Whilst the GB results may not be all that might have been hoped, there was much British representation amongst the organisation; in the Directoire Technique, amongst the panel of referees, arena announcers and so on. There were also many familiar faces, including Academy members, among the many volunteers, in their distinctive purple and red tops. These were the main point of contact for the visiting public and they definitely made the Games for many. A special mention should also be made of the military personnel who had been drafted in to man the security checks. As one approached, they said “It’s just like airport security”; wrong! - these guardians of our safety were smiling and helpful! John Worsley, in his column on page 10, has some valid points to make about the legacy of the Games. Our sport has been exposed to a new audience and we now need to make use of that. A straw poll amongst youngsters taking part in taster sessions during the summer holidays has shown that a large number saw the Olympic fencing coverage and were inspired to have a go. It is perhaps fitting now for all our coaches to adopt one of the key phrases used to promote London 2012 and seek to “Inspire a Generation”.

Academy News is edited by Bob Merry, 6 Birkdale Close, Bramhall, Stockport, Cheshire SK7 2LN. Tel: 0161 440 9613 or 07836 764026. Email: [email protected]. Articles and other material are welcome and should be sent to the Editor Printed by BM Colour, Unit 20, Hillgate Business Centre, Swallow St., Stockport, Cheshire, SK1 3AU

September 2012 Academy News Page 3 YOUR COMMITTEE

President: Useful Information Prof. Philip Bruce 190 Ashurst Road Peel Hall, Manchester M22 5AZ Tel: 0161 498 6625 Proficiency Email: [email protected] Academy Awards Vice-President: Prof. Peter Cormack Web site 52 Queens Road Kenilworth, Warwickshire CV8 1JS The current rates for awards are: Tel: 01926 859881 Email: [email protected] For all the latest BAF Members: Vice-President: information and 1 - 4 Awards £3.70 each Prof. Louisa Miller 5 - 9 Awards £3.60 each 84 Avon Street merchandising go to Warwick, Warwickshire CV34 4PX 10+ Awards £3.40 each Tel: 01926 494 145 the Academy web site Email: [email protected] Approved non-Academy Coaches: Secretary: at 1 - 4 Awards £4.70 each Prof. Bob Merry 6 Birkdale Close, Bramhall www.baf-fencing.org 5 - 9 Awards £4.10 each Stockport, Cheshire SK7 2LN 10+ Awards £3.90 each Tel: 0161 440 9613 email: [email protected] A5 Study Guides: Treasurer: Stuart Clough 1 - 4 £2.65 (£2.90)each (incl. p&p) 1 Yew Tree Cottages 5+ £2.30 (£2.65) each Brown Street Old Newton, Stowmarket IP14 4QB Tel: 07886 708392 A4 Syllabus leaflets: Email: [email protected] Free with Study Guide, otherwise 60p Assistant Secretary and Course Officer: (70p) each. Provost Dave Jerry Orchard Rise, Churchtown Belton, Doncaster DN9 1PE A3 Sized Wallcharts: Tel: 01427 874109 Recommended 65p (75p) each email: [email protected] Rates of pay Figures in RED are for non-BAF Members’ Representative: members John Worsley Level Rate 8 Mosedale Close Astley Examination Manchester M29 7JW Diploma 37.75 Tel: 01942 888 935 Maitre d’Escrime 30.35 fees Email: [email protected] and Provost Proficiency Awards Administrator: Member 25.00 Maître Donald Walker Associate 22.35 Level 1 Assessment £11.00 4 The Aviaries Castle Howard York YO60 7BU Please Note: These rates are given for Level 2 to Diploma £21.00 (£26.00) email: [email protected] guidance only. Coaches are free to negotiate their own rates, according to local conditions. These are for “normal” exams - for The Academy recommends that travel, up to Additional Committee Appointments: 20 miles from home, should be included in Special exams, consult the Course Chairman, SSTT: the basic fee. Officer. Figures in RED are for Prof. Leon Hill non-BAF members

International Secretary: Prof.Philip Bruce DOCUMENTATION Child Protection Officer, Welfare Officer: Prof. Louisa Miller The following documentation is available from the Course Officer, Dave Jerry Chairman, Disciplinary Sub-Committee Key Teaching Points Prof. Peter Cormack Key Teaching Points Epee Key Teaching Points Sabre Key Coaching Points Foil Editor - Academy News, Insurance, Examination ...... £7.35 (£9.45) each Results Coordinator: Key Coaching Points Epee Prof. Bob Merry Key Coaching Points Sabre Glossary of Terms (including Translation of Fencing Terms)...….……....£7.35 (£9.45) Membership Secretary: Stuart Clough Employment Guidelines……………………………………….……...... £7.35 (£9.45) Teaching/ Coaching Tactics (2nd Edition)...... ….…..….……...... £16.80 (£21) Film & Theatre Representative: CD-Rom Issue 5 – this contains all the syllabuses and current questions for BAF examina- Andy Wilkinson The Cottage, The Common tions, as well as other examination material….……………….………....£10.00 ** Kinsbourne Green Examples of past written Papers – for the Advanced and Diploma examinations - FREE - Harpenden, Herts. AL5 3NT apply to Course Officer Tel: 01582 713052 All prices include p & p. Figures in RED are for non-BAF members email: [email protected] ** Price of CD-ROM includes lifetime replacement guarantee - only buy once! A Compendium containing all major Documentation, including the ones above, plus more relating to examinations, is now available. For full details see Issue 64 of Academy News or contact Professor Isobel Combes ([email protected]) September 2012 Academy News Page 4 the president writes......

Did it work? Well, in London 2012, they won all the Women’s Foil individual medals and the team gold. They also won the Men’s Foil Team gold, plus a handful of silver and bronze medals which puts them at the top of the fencing medals table. Even so, I’m sure they will agree with me that their results could have been better and that performance overall has slipped recently in some respects, particularly in the sabre. Seven medals may be far beyond what we could have dreamt of, but with the quality of Italian fencing, I feel they could have achieved much more. KOREA Next down the medals table came Korea, much to everyone’s (misplaced) astonishment. They have been Fencing, the Olympics and Coaching making steady progress over the years and we need to be paying much more attention to how they are doing it. It is Well, until the Men’s Team Foil event, I was getting clear that they have a good infrastructure and funding in very depressed about what I was going to say in this article. place – you can go to the sport university there to train as a Until that point, it was like watching a car wreck in slow coach, and they have sent some coaches abroad to improve motion. All the individual events had come and gone and their skills. However, a remark from the head coach Lee GBR had won only ONE fight against a foreign fencer. Wook Jae, in a recent interview struck me deeply The gloom lifted a bit for me when the Men’s Foil team "It is Korean style. We worked very hard on footwork, to came out and, to their credit, turned what may have been have speedy legs because our opponents are slower." perceived as a walkover for the Italians into a real scare and capped that off by beating the French. True, the Why did that remark have such an impact on me? Italians may not have fenced up to their usual standard and Because in this country, every time we have a disappointing may have been caught out by complacency, and true, the result, the cry goes up “We need to get foreign coaches in!” French have been having a disastrous Olympics, but a win and yet here is a country where fencing was until recently is a win and the Foil team are to be congratulated for what relatively unknown, getting to second place on the medal they did achieve. tables with all home grown coaches standing by the piste. Nevertheless, despite all the funding, despite the This points to the one thing we don’t do. We refuse in benefit of all those wild cards and despite all the ‘Experts’ this country to train our fencers according to the kind of in charge, it remains a fact that these were our worst people they are. There are too many people convinced that results since the modern games began. all we need for success is to graft some foreign fencing system on to our own. No one seems to notice that it fails The fencers in question had barely shaken hands before time and time again. We cannot overlook the cultural the post-mortems began on the fencing grapevine and the differences between one system of coaching and the other. inevitable “This is how I think we should put things right” I have seen an Italian coach take the épée out of his fencer’s speeches from all and sundry. hand and hurl it across the hall in disgust because of some Instead of going down that route, can I suggest we look tiny error she had committed. I have seen Emil Beck first at what has been working for the successful nations? () physically drag a world class fencer out of a venue, and send him to the bus stop with instructions to find ITALY his own way back to Germany (for the sin of being knocked In 2008, just before the Olympics, I happened out in the first round), I have seen a Russian coach punch a to be sitting beside Antionio Fiore, president of the FIS lad in the face for forgetting to bring a spare mask wire to (Federazione Italiana Scherma) Medical Commission, and weapon control, and I have seen a Chinese coach give three I took the opportunity to shamelessly pump him for girls a punishing two hour warm-up of continual repetitive information about how the Italians were going ahead, and drills at a World Cup competition (the girls went on to finish he described a programme that boiled down to levels of in 1st, 2nd and 4th places) It is not in the nature of the British funding we can only dream of and putting the fencer to cope well with that kind of coaching, yet all those coach/athlete partnership at the centre of all the decision were all world class coaches who have achieved world class making procedures. The job of the coach was to be results. I have also known Polish and Hungarian coaches entirely focused on the development of the fencer, who came here and gave up in despair because they could bringing in the experts he chose (psychology, fitness, not get British fencers to approach the sport in the way they nutrition etc.) to support him in this. were used to. I am not standing in judgement over one or the other, simply stating the obvious truth that the Koreans September 2012 Academy News Page 5 have used to their advantage – you need a system of Masters and have invited numerous foreign coaches to try coaching which understands and works with the strengths imposing the philosophy of their country of origin upon of the individuals in it. British fencing. The only person it appears to have worked with is Richard Kruse. However, it could be argued that The excuse (which I find nothing short of slanderous) Ziemowit Wojciechowski in this case had one advantage is that we cannot do this because we have no home grown that almost no other coach of an elite fencer in this country world class coaches. This is so often said, that many has been allowed – he has been allowed to keep his pupil. fencers take it as being true, but it is simply a symptom of Kruse has been working with Wojciechowski since he the complete ignorance of the sport that pervades among first picked up a sword as a 7 year old beginner. This is the people that purport to practise and teach it. Just totally at odds with the present party line as concerns the consider the following: coaching of elite fencers in this country. The fact of the BAF Coaches with outstanding world class success matter is that as soon as a pupil starts gaining success, the first reaction of the BFA is to try to remove that pupil from Prof. Sue Benney – Philip Marsh, Junior World the coach by any means possible, whether it be by Champion épée demanding that the fencer race all over the country for Prof. Andrew Vincent – Jon Willis: squad or Academy training, or by informing the fencer that he or she ‘must’ work with an appointed coach or face 1st Heidenheim Pokal World Cup 2007 de-selection. 1st Kish Island World Cup 2010 I have seen this happen time and time again at all levels of the sport and rarely, if ever, has it resulted in 2nd Challenge Sydney World Cup 2009 better success for the pupil. Quite the opposite – for many, the interference of the powers that be and the changing of 5th Glaive de Tallinn World Cup 2010 coaches has resulted in a disastrous plummeting of results Andy Hill – who was Corrinna Lawrence’s coach up to for the fencer who can go from the top of the rankings to her first European medal complete obscurity at the speed of light. Sadly, often the only person who knows and remembers is the coach he or These are all BAF coaches, trained under the BAF she was taken away from. system which some, who think of themselves as belonging to the higher rungs of fencing and coaching in this country, It was interesting to see the interview with Rebecca claim doesn’t have any success. Adlington after winning a bronze medal – she trains with her own coach at a small local swimming club, and after With all the coach bashing that goes on during the most the Olympics, she intends to go back there. I wonder if recent Olympic cycle it’s a wonder we have anyone her governing body will try to interfere. willing to coach. Coaches in this country are generally treated appallingly and with almost no respect. In the main The vast majority of coaches, both professional and they receive little of no help in any form no matter how amateur, do what they do for the love of the sport. Any good their fencers’ results are. Example – when Jon Wills remuneration they receive is generally out of proportion won the Heidenheim World Cup, our then Performance to the amount of work they do, or the training they’ve Director never acknowledged the achievement of Willis’s done. All over the country I see volunteer coaches British coach, Andrew Vincent. Had he done so and had struggling against the odds to make clubs work and I see Andrew Vincent been given the help and support his professional coaches who have dedicated themselves to foreign counterparts receive in, for example, , Italy providing the best possible service to the sport and who and Germany, how much more could Jon Willis have seem to get nothing but obstacles put in their way by those achieved? I know that no one in British Fencing ever who should be helping them. With the rocketing cost of contacted him to ask him how he had done it or asked for fuel and venues, it is a miracle they keep going, and often his input in developing better coaching at that level it is no thanks to those at the top of fencing. Indeed, quite the reverse is often true – coaches are constantly told they The immediate assumption on all sides that the solution must jump through this and that hoop in order to be to the problem would be to change our coaches just recognised by the BFA. reinforced the old adage – a fencer who wins is a bl**dy fine fencer, a fencer who loses has a cr*p coach. So, what do we need? Consider also the Russians, who brought in the very I am going to suggest something very simple. To my successful French coach Christian Bauer to improve and mind, we need to start by doing the following: rebuild after their fourth place ranking at Beijing. Result? Support grassroots and beginner coaches in their Exactly the same result at London 2012. Their results attempt to broaden the base from which future champions were much better than ours, but not much improved by will emerge. One may often wince to see what goes on in importing a foreign system. He was simply unable to some fencing clubs in terms of less than perfect coaching, reproduce the success he had had in earlier years coaching but the fact remains that these people are getting fencers an Italian fencer. in through the door. They need to be encouraged and Over the decades we have ignored the knowledge and supported. One of the best things the national achievements of British coaches and British Fencing organisations could do would be to campaign to reduce September 2012 Academy News Page 6 the costs of venue hire and to help coaches with the (coach of ITA, practicalities of setting up. We need to make every effort women’s foil gold) to reduce the number of obstacles and hoops in the way of Giovanni Bortolaso (coach of Arriana Errigo ITA, setting up fencing clubs around the country. women’s foil silver) We need to trust coaches to want the best for their Giulio Tommassini (coach of ITA, fencers and help them to become the best coaches they can women’s foil bronze) be. Their contribution to a fencer’s success needs to be recognised and supported and the relationship between the Mariusz Piasecki (father and coach of Bartosz Piasecki coach and the successful fencer needs to be protected. NOR, men’s épée silver) Coaches should be given the opportunity to develop and Somlai Bela (coach of Aron Szylagi HUN, men’s enhance their skills without fear of undue interference and sabre gold) I maintain that they should be able to choose the system - BAF, BFA, or other, or any mixture of these - which suits Leonardo Caserta (coach of Diego Occhiuzzi ITA, their own needs best without being shoehorned into men’s sabre silver) ANYONE’s idea of what kind of coach development they Vladimir Diatchenko (coach of Nicolay Kovalev RUS, need. Senior coaches should be encouraged to run courses men’s sabre bronze) and sessions where they can share their skills with those who want to learn, without being moaned at from the Andriy Orlikovsky (coach of UKR, side-lines. The more coaches we have with sword in hand, women’s épée gold) in clubs, the better. Fencers vote with their feet – leave Manfred Kaspar (coach of GER, them to do that and the better coaches will succeed and women’s épée silver) hopefully the others will be motivated to work harder. Yong Yul Kim (coach of Kim Jiyeon KOR, women’s Fencers need more experience of fencing against the sabre gold) very best. Meeting the elite every once in a while at competitions is not enough. They need to be given Dmitry Glotov (coach of Sofya Velikaya RUS, opportunities to travel abroad to fence the best. Mo Farah women’s sabre silver) (10,000m Gold medallist) is on record as saying that prior Stefano Cerioni for the men’s and women’s foil team to the Olympics, training in Britain didn’t work for him so gold he moved with his family to Oregon USA. Some of the top European distance runners are setting up a base in Kenya Oleg Matseichuk for the men’s team foil silver JPN to training alongside the world’s best. How often do our Daniel Levavasseur for the women’s team épée gold best fencers get to train alongside Europe’s elite fencers? CHN The answer is all too infrequently. They only really get to experience the better fencers in the world when they face Shim Jaesung and Lee Wook Jae for the achievements them in competition of the Korean team – bronze for men’s individual foil and épée, gold for men’s team sabre, gold for women’s We need to encourage more coaches to attend the individual sabre, women’s team épée silver and women’s senior competitions in this country and abroad, if for no team foil bronze. other reason than to watch and learn Roberto Sobalvarro for the women’s team épée bronze As much as I don’t like to admit it, in this country we USA are involved in a small sport. At every level and in every aspect of our sport there are simply too few fencers, (coach of Peter Joppich GER, men’s coaches, administrators and officials etc. It’s time we all foil team bronze) started to pull in the same direction. The future of fencing Philip Bruce in Britain depends on it. We cannot afford to be complacent – if British Swimming, in spite of its Olympic medals, now faces funding cuts and the restructuring of its CONGRATULATIONS - 1 coaching programme as a punishment for its ‘under- performance’, we have to be ready to expect some very Academy News wishes to congratulate Philip hard times indeed. Bruce and Isobel Combes, who were married in July. Isobel will continue to use the surname Combes, At all levels, we have some damn fine coaches in this for professional reasons, but has adopted Bruce as one country, why don’t we give them a chance and give them of her forenames. the support they so desperately need. Congratulations to our Colleagues at London 2012 On behalf of the Academy, I would like to congratulate CONGRATULATIONS - 2 our fellow coaches internationally for their results at the At the recent Congress of the Académie d’Armes Olympic Games. It is an incomplete list – the fact that this Internationale (AAI), Professor Philip Bruce was information is so hard to find only reflects the lack of elected as a Vice President of the AAI. appreciation that so many coaches receive. September 2012 Academy News Page 7

PROFESSOR JAMES PERRY 1946 -2012

Professor Jim Perry was involved in a road accident on the 13th July, whilst on his way to teach one of his school classes, and died at the scene. Jim will be remembered as a larger than life character - as well as his work in fencing, he had been a professional ski- instructor, Arctic warfare, survival and adventure training instructor and mountain expedition leader. The BAF has received several tributes and Academy News has selected two to try to illustrate the wide spectrum of those who will miss Jim. One is from a coaching colleague, whilst the other is from the parent of one of his pupils.

Jim alongside one of his pupils, Olympian James Davis From Prof. Bob Bales I knew Jim for many years from the time he first started attending coach education courses at the old Mayfield College days. Right from the start he began to demonstrate all the skills of a top professional coach. He was very organised in his work and training, showing independence of thought, yet always ready to listen. The other side of Jim was one of enjoying life, his love of skiing, the odd whisky and a joke. Jim receiving a sabre lesson with a hangover was quite funny for the coach!! I got the impression all his pupils received 100% from Jim and I am sure along with myself and his fencing friends, colleagues, and pupils he will be greatly missed and fondly remembered. My thoughts are with his family at this sad time. From Alienora Taylor My son's Fencing teacher was killed last week. We only discovered this, via a tiny article in a local paper, yesterday, and it has been a huge shock. And I can only imagine how unutterably dreadful it must be for his family and close friends. To them, I send heartfelt condolences. But my purpose in writing this post is to pay tribute to a remarkable man. We first met Jim - as everyone called him - on February 23rd 2005, when our then tiny, serious-faced, seven year old joined a fencing club in a neighbouring school. Right from that first lesson, Jim had the measure of our doughty little lad: though tiniest in the class, the boy would, and regularly did, go up against hulking great twelve year old brutes and though he did not always win, he hung in there like an irritating little terrier. And Jim was always there with an encouraging word, his mighty laugh and his rapier gaze. Like our child, Jim was left-handed - a potential advantage in the fencing world where, statistically, most fencers are righties - and this gave them an early bond which endured over the next seven and a half years. Jim was firm but kind: the children always knew where they stood with him; they knew instinctively not to cross the line - but, if one of his 'littlies' as he called them, showed signs of nerves or distress, Jim would be on hand to have a quiet word, to give a reassuring smile. The lad progressed in leaps and bounds, particularly once he had settled on his weapon of choice, the Sabre, and, with Jim's help, he gained all five of his Stars. Jim also trusted him to coach other, less experienced fencers - and I believe that this helped the boy's self-confidence and assertiveness enormously. Jim regularly came into various local schools - including the one I used to teach at - to teach Fencing. He was an inspiration: the most difficult pupils responded to his calm, fair approach and I witnessed some remarkable transformations, during the course of a day, in which challenging teens were given space to be, just for a few hours, the heroes of their own dreams. I now have a rich vocabulary of Fencing terms - and will not be able to hear, 'En garde!' for example, without also hearing the echo of Jim's distinctive voice. I am not ashamed to admit that I spent much of yesterday afternoon crying after hearing the news; our son is devastated - and I am quite sure there are fencers all over the land, and of all ages, whose lives feel a little less bright today as a result. Some people are irreplaceable - and Jim was one of them. The world will be a poorer place without him. September 2012 Academy News Page 8 STEPHEN DOUGLAS ROBERT SEAGER 1922-2012

Steve Seager, a former member of the Academy and who served on its committee, died earlier this year. This obituary has been adapted from a tribute written by Professor Davis Austin, who was first persuaded to take on a committee appointment by Steve. Steve as he was affectionately known to his friends, was born in Scotland but moved to Streatham, London as a small boy and grew up attending Streatham School from whence followed an award of a sports scholarship to Dulwich College, a school renowned for its fencing. He excelled at a number of sports including swimming, athletics, riding, shooting, engaging in fencing more seriously in later life. In his late teens he joined a firm of solicitors but his training was interrupted in 1940 when he was called up. He fought in North Africa, Sicily and Italy, before being wounded He was mentioned in dispatches. On his recovery he was recruited for Force 133, part of the Special Operations Service and SOE, fore runner of the SAS, and was parachuted behind the German enemy lines into where he remained working with the resistance for 2 years. After the war he moved into the building trade, first with his father’s company and then with Ready Mix Concrete as Regional Sales Manager. Steve, in his spare time, reintroduced himself to his interest in fencing and joined Salle Behmber. After some competition success, he turned to coaching and Professor Reggie Behmber sponsored him to join the B.A.F., in which he was later to serve on the Committee. He started his own club – Southside - which duly had success in Surrey, one pupil going on to compete in the Olympics. Around this time he took over as coach at the Toynby Hall Group in London and met and married in 1960 Pam who had joined the club to learn fencing. I would suggest respectfully, a marriage “made in fencing heaven” which lasted until the end. He continued coaching fencing into his fifties, supporting many events including helping with sponsorship the Fencing Masters World Championships at Crystal Palace in 1970. Steve Seager was a party animal. He was abundant in enthusiasm for fun and living life to the full. He always had time for others, an unfailing friend and he was blessed with a sociable disposition, frequently tinged with good humoured wit and wickedness. He was a rare talent in his professional work. Above all he loved his family. The wallace collection A Review by Bob Merry

In this and the previous issue there has been a notice on page 11 about an exhibition at the Wallace Collection in London. Is it worth visiting, you may ask? Well, I have travelled down to the capital to see it, so here are my views. The Wallace Collection is housed at Hertford House, a large mansion on the north side of Manchester Square, a few minutes walk from Bond Street Tube station. It is a magnificent collection of art, furniture and arms & armour, from mediaeval times up to the nineteenth century. The temporary exhibition “The Noble Art of the Sword: Fashion and Fencing in Renaissance Europe” occupies a few rooms in the basement and the organisers have gathered together a fine collection of weapons, clothing, books and other exhibits from around the world. They range from practice swords, with protective “buttons” the size of squash balls, to a rapier once owned by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II, with a hilt fashioned from solid gold (photo, left). There are also original editions of the works of famous masters, such as Thibault, Camillo Agrippa, di Grassi and many others. The exhibition continues until the 16th September and is highly recommended. Even if you miss this exhibition, the Wallace Collection is still worth a visit in its own right. It has a first class collection of art, furniture and porcelain, but it is perhaps of more interest to us for the three large rooms full of arms and armour, both European and Oriental. Outside of the Royal Armouries, I doubt you will find a better collection in this country and it rivals many larger museums worldwide, such as New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. If the day of my midweek visit was anything to go by, it also has the advantage of not being overcrowded. In my opinion this exhibition and the Wallace Collection are well worth a special trip and, if you are in London anyway, why not go there and see for yourself. It’s free! September 2012 Academy News Page 9 Swordsmen of the silver screen - pt 1 By Andy Wilkinson

When Hollywood first looked towards the big skies and deep blue waters of the Spanish Main, the forests of Sherwood and the Royal Courts of Europe to create what we all remember as ‘The Swashbucklers’ of the early 20th Century, the Hollywood Studios immediately knew they needed experts in the field of fencing and swordsmanship to realise the vision of their screen writers. The climatic sword-fight was common place on the stage. Actors would rehearse for weeks before a performance and would fight unprotected, using swords, which although blunted, were quite capable of causing injury. But what of film fights? It soon became clear that filmed fights would require far more attention to detail, as the camera would expose poorly choreographed and executed moves. Unrealistic phrases or a lack of intent or danger from the actors would be clearly seen by the audience close up on a screen 30 feet high! It was obvious to the producers that their film stars would require just as many weeks of training and rehearsal, often to metronome timing under the guidance of Fencing Masters. And so it was, when a film was stepped up from development to pre-production it was not uncommon for the Fencing Master to be hired before the film’s director!

Picture Credit: “The Three Musketeers” 1921 ~ Douglas Fairbanks Pictures

As the author and historian Jeffery Richards states in his marvellous book ‘Swordsmen of The Screen’ (Routledge & Kegan Paul ISBN 0 7100 0681 0) : .....‘In the annals of swashbuckling films, four names stand out, four men who between them have been responsible for most of the screen sword duels ~ Henry J Uttenhove, Fred Cavens, Ralph Faulkner and Jean Heremans’. These fight directors, to people like me who have studied their work and films for nearly 30 years, are the true unsung heroes of Hollywood. Unlike the celebrity culture of today, these Masters were uncredited on the films they worked on; think of a Hollywood Swashbuckler and I can guarantee you one of these fight directors would have been responsible for the swordplay’. Without them, Errol Flynn, Louis Hayward, Douglas Fairbanks, Basil Rathbone, Robert Douglas and many more movie stars of that era would never have won the day, saved the princess or drawn cutlasses against pirates on the Spanish Main! In this occasional series of articles I will hope to give an insight into the Hollywood Fight Directors, their techniques, philosophy and their films. I will also highlight the many actors who flourished under their tuition, such as the great Basil Rathbone and of course Errol Flynn. Until the next time ~ And still of a winter’s night, they say When the wind is in the trees When the Moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas When the road is a ribbon of moonlight Over the purple moor A highwayman comes riding-riding-riding A highwayman comes riding up to the old inn door Alfred Noyes, The Highwayman Have fun and be safe! September 2012 Academy News Page 10 Worsley’s words Musings from your Members’ Rep.

By the time you read this article, the Olympic games will be over and the results, for better or worse will be known. As it happens, the results for British fencers were possibly disappointing, although I suspect not a complete surprise. I don’t want to go down the route of dissecting the events that took place, what did we do right? What went wrong? Whose fault is it? I’ll leave that to be thrashed out elsewhere. What I would like to focus on is the publicity factor the Olympic Games have provided for our sport. This has been one of the most televised Games ever held; the BBC have provided all the sports with significant amounts of “air-time”. Although those of us with access to Freeview only, will have found the amount of televised fencing a little limited, I believe that anyone with Sky had access to virtually all of the fencing as it happened. Regardless of results, this has been a golden opportunity to bring fencing to the attention of the general public and from my own experience this has certainly been the case. As I mentioned in my first article I’m a chemist by day, coach by night. Most of the people I work with know I fence and although I have spoken to one or two about fencing in some depth and how I started, It’s rarely mentioned other than in passing. However for the whole of the week that the fencing events were broadcast there wasn’t a day where I didn’t have to answer questions on all sorts of aspects of fencing, from what’s the difference between foil and épée? Why does sabre look so much faster then the other weapons? How can you tell what is happening? How does team fencing work? This set me thinking, if there is this level of interest and curiosity about fencing (now that it has been seen on television) where I work, then what’s happening across the country? If the Olympic games have raised the profile of our sport then how can we capitalise on this? If anyone has any suggestions let me know because I’m really struggling to find an answer. To help illustrate the point I’m trying to make, here’s an example. The weekend the Olympics started, I did a fencing demonstration on the Sunday at a small well dressing festival at Chadkirk Chapel, a country park just outside Stockport. Just a simple affair, demonstrations of all three weapons, explanations of the differences between them, the basic rules of fencing etc. I had prepared a notice board with information about fencing, all the usual stuff - how it started, the weapons, the rules, and the swords. I even prepared a simple profile of all the Team GB Fencers that were in action at the Olympics. And you know what? People really seemed to enjoy it; after each of our 20-minute demonstrations, people came over to the stall we were based in and asked all sorts of questions. We gave away scores of handouts about my own club, other clubs in the local area, how to get started in fencing, where to buy equipment. But the one thing that sticks in my mind about the whole event is the number of times that people said, “Fencing! I’ve always wanted to have a go at fencing, but I’ve never been able to find anywhere that does it”. Despite the fact that there were two fencing clubs in the immediate area and one more about a 30 minute drive away. Either people are just being kind, or fencing is the most well known minority sport in the country; everyone you speak to wants to have a go but can’t find a club. So what do we do? As I said before, any suggestions? - let me know, because I don’t think there is a simple answer to this problem. One thing I know for sure is that people have short memories. If we are going to use these Games as a springboard to raise the profile of our sport, then we need to act sooner rather than later. Once the excitement of the Games has passed, then most of the minority sports featured will fade from the minds of the public. I personally believe that it is not up to the “Sport” per se to do something but rather it is each individual club that has to take action, hence the plea for suggestions. If there are clubs out there that actively promote fencing in their local areas, I would like to here from you. I’d like to here about how you go about doing it and, if possible, I’d like to share these ideas with the rest of the membership. Please remember I’m here to put your questions to the committee. If you have any questions you would like to ask me or if you have any comments about the above please don’t hesitate to contact me at [email protected] or on 07857 625 958. Anonymity guaranteed unless otherwise requested. John Worsley, Members’ Representative. Oh yes – the second most common question I heard on the demonstration day was “The épée, that’s the one that appears in all the crosswords isn’t it?” (Deep breath, grit teeth, and smile nicely). September 2012 Academy News Page 11 More useful bits……. BAF RESIDENTIAL COURSEs Autumn Course - 29th October to 2nd November 2012 Fees for the Course £406 for Members and £466 for non-Members Please Note - An additional administration fee of £40 will be charged for bookings made in the final 28days, so please make sure you book before the 1st October to avoid this fee. Course to be held at Denstone College, Staffordshire. Contact Dave Jerry, the Course Officer for full details.

The Noble Art of the Sword: Fashion and Fencing in Renaissance Europe Thursday 17th May, 2012 - Sunday 16th September, 2012 Price: Admission Free

"These murderous objects are exquisitely beautiful" Erica Wagner, The Times "Once you've seen this show, I guarantee you will never think about the Renaissance in quite the same way again" Richard Dorment, The Telegraph "...objects of breathtaking beauty that will stop you in your tracks" Richard Dorment, The Telegraph

We are grateful to Austen Rose for drawing our attention to the above exhibition at the Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square, London W1U 3BN. Further details can be found at http://www.wallacecollection.org/collections/exhibition/93

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Photographs in this issue have been supplied by Bob Merry (p1 & 8 (Wallace Collection)), Jacqui Perry (p7), and David Austin (p8 (Steve Seager))

The under mentioned names are published as having applied for membership of the British Academy of Fencing. If anyone wishes to raise objections or has information which he or she feels is relevant, please contact the Secretary of the BAF. All objections will be required to be made in writing and will be treated in the strictest confidence. James Baldwin Surrey Laura Jamieson Aberdeen Sarah Dolan Ruthin Andrew Docherty Hemel Hempstead

See the Academy web site at www.baf-fencing.org for details of the latest applications. IMPORTANT

All Course organisers and potential attendees should be aware of the following condition, which applies to all BAF Courses, including “non-official”courses run by Academy members.